Psychosocial profile in favor of organ donation

doi:10.1016/S0041-1345(03)00468-8

Transplantation Proceedings

Volume 35, Issue 4, June 2003, Pages 1276-1281

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0041-1345(03)00468-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

Introduction

The lack of organ donation continues to be a major limiting factor in transplantation. Our aims are: (1) to define the psychosocial profile against organ donation, and (2) to determine the impact of a law on the procurement and transplantation of organs based on “presumed consent” in the population.

Material and methods

The population in this study (n = 2000) was randomly selected and stratified according to sex, age, and geographic localization. The attitude toward organ donation and transplantation was evaluated according to a questionnaire that probed psychosocial aspects of donation. Statistical comparisons were performed using the χ² and logistic regression tests.

Results

The population attitude toward organ donation was favorable in 63% of subjects, unfavorable in 31%, and 6% did not respond. With regard to the law based on “presumed consent,” only 24% of the population agreed with the law; 53% thought it was an abuse of authority. The population subgroup with a negative attitude to the law was characterized by: age over 40 years, low educational level, no previous experience with organ donation or transplant, no experience in prosocial activities, a refusal to accept cadaver manipulation or mutilation, and lack of knowledge of the brain-death concept.

Conclusion

The psychosocial profile against donation is a person above 40 years with a low level of education who has never performed prosocial activities, did not have previous experience with organ donation or transplantation, displays no knowledge of the brain-death concept, and rejects cadaver manipulation. For these people a law based on “presumed consent” is considered an abuse of authority.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

The population in this study was randomly selected and stratified according to sex, age, and geographic localization (municipalities) among people over >15 years of age in the Murcia Region, Spain. The population was designated by a conglomeration stratification procedure.

The selection of primary units (municipalities) was randomly performed in proportion to the population of every municipality. The secondary units (villages, small towns, and cities) were simply selected randomly. The

Results

The population consisted of 2000 persons >15 years old (average age: 41.2 years). The distribution by sex was: 1022 women (51%) and 978 (49%) men. The populations attitude toward organ donation was favorable among 63% of cases and unfavorable in 31%; the remaining 6% did not answer. In the group with a favorable attitude, the reasons for this attitude were principally solidarity and reciprocity. In the group with an unfavorable attitude or those who did not answer, the reasons for these

Discussion

Although Spain is the country with the highest rate of cadaveric donation per million population in the world, the ever-increasing need for human organs for transplantation has meant that there are more patients awaiting a transplantation every year. An important fact that limits donation is family refusal to authorize retrieval. 2, 4

In the Southwest of Spain, there are still many families who refuse to donate the organs of their deceased for transplantation.⁵ In this study, we attempted to

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Citation Excerpt :
It is due in part to family refusal3 but also to lack of awareness. Several studies have indicated that religious, social, and cultural beliefs of a nondonor's family play major roles in the process.4,5 Ignorance of emotional needs of organ donor families and giving inadequate information to families about brain death and organ donation procedures by the transplantation team may lead to an uninformed choice by relatives of the deceased.6
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Among 130 distributed questionnaires, we collected 115 completely answered surveys. Respondees were as follows: 60.8% were females, 87 were residents and 28 interns, 80% were aged from 25 to 34 years, and 60% had practiced their profession for 1 to 5 years. Results showed that 28% don't know that tissue and organ donation from a cadaver is authorized in Morocco, 6% are aware of the organs and tissues that can be taken, 76% know the definition of brain death, 35% don't believe in this concept, 88% were favorable for the removal of organs and tissue of deceased persons, 10% ignore that Islam allows organ donation, 62% will give their organs and tissues after death, 25% refuse organ donation of a parent, and 30% refuse it of their children after death.
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Challenges in transplantation: organ donationPsychosocial profile in favor of organ donation

Abstract

Introduction

Material and methods

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Results

Discussion

Transplant Proc

Med Clin

Transplant Proc

Transplant Proc

Transplant Proc

Transplant Proc

JAMA

Challenges in transplantation: organ donation
Psychosocial profile in favor of organ donation